The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1887-02-09
NYE AMONG THE M0ONSIIINERS
THE LIVELY EXPERIENCE OF AN IN.
oUIRER AFTER TRJrn.

ASHENlbIE, N. ", january I0.-lIuS|
week | went out into the mountains foi
the purpose Of securing n holly tree witt
red berries on it for Yuletilc / had
noticed in all my pictures of Christmas
festivities in England that The holly,
with cranberrics on it, constituted the
back ground Of Yulctidc. A Iulctidc in
England without a holly bo,,8h and Il
little mistletoc i'll it wouldn't be worth
half price. Here these vegetables grow
in great profusion, owing to the equablc
climate, and so the holly tree is within
the reach of all
L resolved to secure one personally, so
sped away into the mountains, where,
in less than the time it takes to toll it, |
had succeeded in finding a holly tree and
losing myself. 1t is a very solemn sen
satlon to feel that You arc lost, and that
Deiorc you can be found something is
liable to happen to the universe.
l wandered aimlcssly about for half an
hour, hoping that would be missed in
society and some one sent in sca ch of
me. was just about to give ND i'm
despair and sink down on bed of moss
with the idea of shutlling off SIX or seven
fcet OF mortal coil when, Il few rods
away, L saw blue smoke issuing from
the side of the mountain and rising to-
ward tho sky. L went rapidly toward il
and found it to be plain duC-out with
dirt floor | entered and c!.st myself
upon rude nail Ecg, allowing my feet
to remain suspended at the lover end of
my legs, an attitude which / frequently
affect when fatigucd.
The place was not occupied at the time
entered, though there was fire and
things looked as though the owncr had
not been long absent. 1t seemed to be
kind of laboratory for could sec here
and there the carmarks of the chemist.
feared at first that ii was Il bomb fac
tory, but as | could not see any of these
implements in perfected state decided
that 1T was safe and waited for the owner
TO arrive.
After some time | heard low, gutter
al footstep approaching up the hill. III
went to the door and exclaimed to the
proprietor as he camc, "AIcrYy Christ |
mas, Colonel"
"Mewy Christmas bc--n said he in
the same bnntcrng tone. What in
three dashcs, two hyphcns ana an aston
isher do you want here, you double |
dashed and double blankrtcd blank to
dash and return"
The wording here is my own, but it |
gives you an idea of how the conycrsa- |
ton was drifting. You can SEQ by his |
manner that literary pcoplcar not alone
in being surIy, irritable and uurcnson-
able.
SO | humorod him and spoke kindly
to him and smoOthcd down his luilitd |
plumago with my gay hadinagr, for he
wore shawl and you can never tell |
whether man wearing q shaw is armed |
or not.
| noticed that he was man about |
medium height, with clear cut features
and rctrcatng briskct. Hjs hair was |
dark and hung III great waves, which |
seemed to have caught the sunlight and |
retained it together with great many |
other atmospheric phuuomena. He wore
straw hat, such as | once saw Horace
Greeley catch grasshoppers in, on tho
banks of the Kinnickinnick, Just before
he caught small trout.
L spent some time with him Watching
him rs he made his various experiments.
Finally he showed me new beverage /,
that he had been engaged in pprfecting |
Il wGs inc!Qsed III q dark brown stone
sGceptaclc, and was held in place by Il
common corn cob stopper. | took some
Of it in order to show that | contidcd i'll
him. | do not remember anything else
distinctly. The fumes of this drink went F.
mt once to NY brain, where it had what |
might be termed complete walkover.
] now have no hesitation iii saying
that the fluid must have been alcoholic .
in its nature, for when | rCgaincd my |
consciousness was extremely clacwhere.
7 found myself on road which seemed
TO lead in two opposite directions, and |
my mind was very much confused.
/ hardly know how got home, but
finally did get there, accompanied by
strong leaning toward prohibition. a |.
few days later | received tho following !
letter;
sir i at lirst thought when saw you |
at my lat orntory the other day that you
was n low, inquisitivc cuss, and so j |
spoke to you in harsh tones and re-
preached you and npbraidcd you by
calling you everything / could lay my !
tongue to, but since then | have con
alluded that you didn't know any better.
You said to me that you found my
place by seeing the smoke coming out
Of my chimney; that has given mo an
idea that you might know something
about what's called smoke consumer,
Of which have heard.
j am doing n fair business, but am
good deal pcstcred, as you might say, !.
by pcople who como in ON me when | do |
not want to ininglc in society. man
in the chemist business cannot succeed |
IL he is all the time interrupted BY Tom, |
Dick and Harry coming in on him when |
he is in the middle of an experiment.
am engaged in making romcdy for
which there is great demand, but its |
manufacture is regarded with suspicion
by United States officials who want to !
be considered Jealous. Rather than bG |
aagn into any dincultywith these peo,
pie, have always courtcd retirement |
and avoided the busy haunts Of men.
Still, some strolling idiot or other viii |
occasionally SEQ the smoke from my little
home and drop in on me.
Could you find out about this smoke